Comcast will be hiring 5,500 workers over the next three years - 250 here in Knoxville.

The company has been committed to developing new services and investing in new technology, Byrd said. That commitment also extends to investing in its employees: Comcast's training will give its staff the tools needed to deliver enhanced customer service, he said.

Meanwhile, the multi-million-dollar renovation creates space for the enlarged call center, while also enhancing the aesthetics and functionality of what had formerly been three buildings housing a grocery store and two discount retailers. The 96,000-square-foot Comcast facility now has large open spaces, training rooms and big windows that draw in more natural light.

Comcast has been serving Knoxville for two decades, but the company dates way back to 1963, when it started off with 1,200 subscribers in Tupelo, Mississippi. Comcast now has more than 44 million customers. It entered the local market in Knoxville in 1995, when Comcast bought the E.W. Scripps cable systems and began serving those 800,000 customers.